Drugging the proteome via large-scale chemoproteomics

Abstract

Genomic and proteomic initiatives have accelerated therapeutic target identification, yet many proteins remain difficult to drug, especially those lacking structural information, including those with intrinsically disordered regions. However, the conformational states of these proteins are shaped in living cells by chemical modifications, protein–protein interactions, oligomerization, and aggregation, offering new ligandable opportunities. In this article, we first discuss current approaches toward drugging the ‘undruggable’ proteins, in particular the advantages and limitations of structure-based drug design. We then describe the advantages of cellular protein-based strategies in identifying ligands for proteins that are hard to target, highlighting large-scale chemoproteomics approaches for drugging the proteome.